Payment Gateway: Why Should You Have One In Your SME?
One of the first steps you take when you start selling online is adjusting all the system to customer experience. This means simplicity, short and clear steps, and mainly information security in the environment where the purchase is made. This is wherea payment gateway comes to action.
What is a Payment Gateway?
As its name suggests, payment gateway is a connection between the e-commerce site of the company and the payment method of the customer.
In this “bridge”, you must take into account both that the purchase is finished and also different variables, such as the variety of payment methods, and mainly customer data protection and security. This is essential to build trust for future purchases and the loyalty strategy of those buyers.
How does a Payment Gateway Work?
For those clients that often buy using different e-commerce sites, the process as a whole is not complex. In fact, it is so simple that we expect the whole process to take only a few seconds.
However, actually the almost instant operation observed by customers has a background series of very important verifications that protects the money involved in the transaction.
IIn general, each purchase takes fewer than five steps, which ensures a secure and efficient transaction. For instance, we may say the first step is the customer decision to buy in the site, in other words, his clear intent to checkout.
Such process will start when the platform of the payment gateway incorporated to the company website requests his data in order to verify whether they are true or not. Then the customer chooses the payment method to finish the purchase. Once the payment gateway gets the data, it encrypts them to protect data from potential improper uses.
In order for the data to travel safety through the network, the payment gateway must have a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificate. Both act as a warranty that data is safe and the information exchange between the user and the payment gateway is fully protected.
At a glance, you can know if the gateway we are about to enter is secure by seeing a green lock at the beginning of the URL. This small clue will ensure customers that their purchase is protected and their data will not be used without their prior consent.
PAGO46 offers a payment button your customers and users that visit your website can use to buy online and even pay with cash anytime, anywhere.
Why Should You Have One In Your Website?
The greatest advantage of incorporating a payment gateway is how simply you speed up the purchase process, increasing your sales . Because it ensures the security of sensible data and the immediate connection with banking entities or financial instruments.
The whole process that tends to be complex in terms of logistics is simplified by the payment gateway to a few steps that mainly consider the security and quality of the experience of the user. Thus the process is simple with practical indicators that make the transaction in seconds.
Moreover, SMEs do not longer need to contact and make an agreement with each banking entity and their own instruments in order to be able to operate with them. This gateway has already made those contacts and the necessary agreements to operate, so the access to it is fast and easy, without paperwork or the never-ending timeline bureaucracy generates in these cases.
Easy Implementation
Although gateways are external sites of the business e-commerce site, the main goal is to incorporate them easily to the checkout section of the SME. That is why they ensure an easy implementation that does not need experts to make it possible.
Just like the process the consumer follows when he buys in an e-commerce site, he can connect with the same simplicity to the SME site with all banking entities or financial instruments that the payment gateway has available in its site.
Centralized Information
Purchase information, the money of each transaction, and any other valuable data for the SME is centralizes through the payment gateway. That data will be accessed any time it is requested.
Anti-fraud System
It is very important for each customer to receive answers when his data has been affected by any use without consent or in case of any issue. For this reason, the payment gateway the SME chooses must ensure, through an anti-fraud system, the cancellation of the purchase or transaction and the reimbursement of the appropriate money.
Available 24 hours a day
Do you sell while you are sleeping? Yes. This is one of the advantages of having a payment gateway that operates 24 hours a day as a strategic ally, which continues operating even during your SME non-working hours.
Payment Options for the Customer
Among the main benefits a payment gateway offers, we can find multiple options to pay for the products customers want to buy in your store.
This makes it possible to generate sales instantly and easily, including a large number of potential buyers. As we mentioned before, this is possible because you provide options to the customer that adapt to his situation, such as payments with cash, credit cards, or bank transfers.
Conclusion
Having an online site streamlined with a payment gateway is one of the best long-term investments for your business, which will legitimize your brand online, making your new clients feel satisfied and secure.
Having a payment gateway is a key decision to adapt to new habits of customers. Therefore, in PAGO46 we understand the e-commerce world as the main tool for SMEs to be successful.
